Montel Williams’ Daughter Diagnosed with Cancer

The 24-year old daughter of TV talk show veteran Montel Williams has been diagnosed with cancer.

Maressa has stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph tissue and Williams, who has been battling multiple sclerosis since 1999, is overwhelmed by the medical analysis; saying in the new issue of Closer Weekly, “I just thought, I have already paid the price in this department. So why her?”

The veteran TV talent is putting his own health struggles aside so that he can focus on helping his daughter beat cancer. “We need to hit the ground running and get this done and get rid of it,” Williams emphasized to the publication. “I could wallow in a hole, but I won’t let myself go there,” he said.

Maressa is a nursing student and amateur body builder. She learned about her diagnosis this past Labor Day weekend after struggling with what she thought was a slipped disk in her back.

“I felt like I was in a dream,” she told the magazine. “I was worried I was going to hear I was going to die or have only six months to live.”

Maressa’s medical prognosis is not a death sentence though; Hodgkin lymphoma has a 10-year survival rate of 90 percent—yet her road to recovery is just beginning. She will face four to six months of chemotherapy treatments every two weeks.

She and her father plan to stay positive throughout the battle. “I will finish nursing school,” Maressa declared to Closer. “I will still compete [in body building] — I plan on beating my cancer and getting my pro card in the same year!”

Attitude is everything, Maressa!

The 57-year-old host said nothing would thrill him more than for his daughter to have overcome cancer so that she can live her best life.

“She is only 24 years old,” Williams said. “So let’s get busy, and let’s get living!”